Worldwide health officials expect the Zika virus to spread farther – but people may not have much of a risk of contracting it in Kentucky anytime in the near future.
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Brazil, the country hardest hit by Zika, is grappling with the virus even as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Also on Friday, a Brazilian public health institute said active Zika virus has been detected in saliva and urine.
Fiocruz, as the foundation is informally known, made the discovery after analyzing samples from two patients and carrying out a partial genome sequencing of the virus, said Paulo Gadelha, president of the foundation.
The CDC said mosquitoes are the primary transmitter of Zika virus, but there has been one case of sexual transmission in Dallas.
The case seemed to confirm two earlier scientific reports suggesting sexual transmission of Zika is possible although considered rare.
Cases of the syndrome, which causes weakness and sometimes paralysis, have increased in tandem with the outbreak of the Zika virus now sweeping Latin America.
The virus is spreading through the Americas.
Zika virus, which can be transmitted by mosquitos, has exploded onto the world stage.
This includes the use of mosquito bite avoidance measures, advice from local health authorities, additional precautions for pregnant women or individuals planning to become pregnant. The scientists stressed, however, that more studies were needed to determine if those fluids could transmit the infection.
Kraig Humabaugh, senior deputy commissioner at the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said the average Kentuckian is not at risk for the Zika virus.
The virus isolated in the semen was isolated at least two weeks, and possibly 10 weeks, after the onset of his illness.
So, the agency is advising men returning from Zika virus affected areas to use condoms, or abstain from sex with their pregnant partner through duration of her pregnancy.
Apart from condoms and abstinence, Frieden said the best way to protect against the disease is to avoid mosquito bites.
The Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and subsequently spread to parts of Asia.
Brazil has the most Zika infections with more than one million, and Colombia has more than 20,000, World Health Organization said.
Zika normally causes mild flu-like symptoms and a rash, or goes unnoticed altogether. And its apparent link to microcephaly, a serious birth defect that leaves babies with smaller heads and brains, means pregnant women have the most to fear from Zika.
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Health ministers from across South America gathered in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo on Wednesday to discuss the emergency and how the region could coordinate its fight.
